Because improper wash techniques, which most every dealer uses, result in micro scratching in the clearcoat. They use the same dirty crap all day and drag debris across the paint surface. It produces a "spider web" effect on the car which looks terrible. With a dark colored car, particularly black, which I have, it is even more noticeable.

Example:

now, polished:

One dealer wash and I will have to spend my entire Sunday claying, polishing, and rewaxing/sealing my car. That's especially not fun when its 25 degrees out.

The towels you use to clean windows make a big difference too. If you don't feel like buying window towels from a detail store, use newspaper. If the windows have a film, you may need to clean them a few times.

Try using stoners window cleaner a few times, then hitting it with IPA.

At the dealership I worked at, we did ****ty jobs on peoples vehicles after they'd been serviced. If you really care about your car, tell them not to wash it.

I was anal as **** at the dealership I detailed at. Like I told my manager I wanted my own mitt and ****, meanwhile the tard's I worked with washed service cars (and new vehicles even) in the most unbelievable fashion you could imagine. And it wasnt just isolated times, like they would hire anybody that said they knew how to wash a car without even showing them proper technique.

wet sanded my headlights, i need to polish them before I wax right?? I waxed them with turtle wax, they are cloudy (not yellow) still but the surface is smooth, I was told that i should have polished them first, and to clean them with an ammonia based glass cleaner and then polish them, that sound about right?

After you're all done sanding (I end with 2500 in my kit) wipe the headlights down, compound, polish, then wax them. You'll need to keep them waxed as well, or the oxidation will come back pretty quick.

I was anal as **** at the dealership I detailed at. Like I told my manager I wanted my own mitt and ****, meanwhile the tard's I worked with washed service cars (and new vehicles even) in the most unbelievable fashion you could imagine. And it wasnt just isolated times, like they would hire anybody that said they knew how to wash a car without even showing them proper technique.

.
Not everyone that works at a stealership is a complete tard, just an unfortunate amount.

__________________
ST:A We spend $60,000 on maintenance to make sure our garage is full.

when i worked at ford, they'd smoke in/around the cars they cleaned. Kids burned paint a few times buffing cars out. It's pretty hard to find a detailer that cares about the work they do, private shop or stealership

when i worked at ford, they'd smoke in/around the cars they cleaned. Kids burned paint a few times buffing cars out. It's pretty hard to find a detailer that cares about the work they do, private shop or stealership

Makes those of us that do look better.

__________________
ST:A We spend $60,000 on maintenance to make sure our garage is full.

Can anybody recommend some good products that arent too expensive. Looking to get my car ready to put away for the winter.

The car has been sitting in the garage for 2 years, with an ocasional wash just to get the dust off of it. I finally got it all together and running and I just got my hood, bumper, and fenders back from paint, so those are all nice and shiny and smooth. Id like to claybar the rest of the car, I can feel how rough the paint feels compared to the new stuff and theres some small scratches I want to try and get out.

Im basically looking to clay everything except the newly painted parts. and then wax the whole car. Just looking for something not too expensive that I can get locally. In the spring I will probably spend some more money on some good products, but for now Im just looking for something quick.

I was looking at the meguiars clay kit, and could anyone recommend a decent wax I could get locally?

Can anybody recommend some good products that arent too expensive. Looking to get my car ready to put away for the winter.

The car has been sitting in the garage for 2 years, with an ocasional wash just to get the dust off of it. I finally got it all together and running and I just got my hood, bumper, and fenders back from paint, so those are all nice and shiny and smooth. Id like to claybar the rest of the car, I can feel how rough the paint feels compared to the new stuff and theres some small scratches I want to try and get out.

Im basically looking to clay everything except the newly painted parts. and then wax the whole car. Just looking for something not too expensive that I can get locally. In the spring I will probably spend some more money on some good products, but for now Im just looking for something quick.

I was looking at the meguiars clay kit, and could anyone recommend a decent wax I could get locally?

Megs gold class , Megs claybar, NXT 2.0. Getting scratches out by hand is a *****. If you have a carquest locally then they carry 3M stuff. Pricey, but great to work with.